Bowa on Current Phillies: They’re Media Friendly

Former Phillies shortstop and manager Larry Bowa joined The Sports Bash with Mike Gill on 97.3 ESPN FM on Tuesday. Bowa had some strong remarks about the makeup of the current Phillies roster when comparing them to the Phillies teams of the late-70’s and early-80’s.

Bowa said that he gives the advantage to Jimmy Rollins when it comes to the two shortstops, but he did mention that if his squad had the pitching depth of the current team, they’d be unreal.

The interesting quote came when asked about the popularity of the teams. Bowa said his club had their trials and tribulations with the media, which often portrayed them in a negative light to the fan base. “If you want guys who played with a chip on their shoulder a little bit, then you want the team that we played on,” said Bowa. “But if you want guys that…wanna look good in the eyes of the media, then you probably go for this group.”

If I’m reading the tea leaves correctly, Bowa could be saying this team is soft compared to the group he played with. Is he right or wrong? Interesting debate. Either way, it’s a great interview.

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0 Comments

Ryne Duren

February 29, 2012 at 11:45 am

well i agree, he’s right! in a way……..except for the soft part. this team it seems to me is appreciative of the fans here and now. just listen to some of the comments the payers make about how much they love to play here! i don’t remember the team bowa was on saying stuff like that. i mean they said the fans are great and passionate here but not like these guys do! halladay could have got more money, lee,hamels ? sounds to me from listening to his interview he loves it hear and wants to stay! i’m not saying he’s gonna play for peanuts but it seems to me he’s giving them time to work things out by signing the one year deal. he seems to understand that the phils will take care of him. and i feel the same way. and victorino’s telling jason stark that he’s not gonna become a free agent! he doesn’t want to leave here! i’ve never heard of a player saying that!! the only thing that comes close to that was schmitty turning down an offer by the cubs to be paid as the highest paid player in history and he signed back with the phils for a lot less! i remember reading in the paper that he owed it to the philly fans. and he was booed here! wow! he wasn’t fully appreciated in this town till his career was just starting to wind down in the mid 80’s

I think the amenities including CBP is so much superior to the vet and the atmosphere in general now is much more conducive to better relations between the fan base and the team
With that said, I was around for the team Bowa played on and I loved them as much if not more than the current team. The level of success is about the same. The team back then was loaded with talent just like this team. I honestly couldn’t care any less about the personality of the team. I want the team to win and win now. I don’t care who wears the uniform, I want the team to win. I love the Phillies and it really doesn’t matter to me who plays for the team as along as the objective is to win, win, win!

I did not take what Bowa said as this team is soft. It was a different time back then media wise. You did not have the massive daily coverage and social media back then so you could piss off the limited media at the time because there were a selective group and all had agendas. Now with everyone carrying a camera phone and everyone out there trying to become famous for a day you have to be a little bit more media savy. That is pretty much what I took from that quote. It was also a different game back in the day. Those Phillies had some great teams and when you only have two playoff spots and two divisions you never got credit for being second best and no chance of WS title if you did not win your division. So it is hard to compare the teams. If there were a wild card back in those days would the PHillies made more trips to the WS who knows, but I think the make up of those teams that came in second in the NL East would have had a shot a few more titles.

Ryne, there was one player that left Philly to go to a dump…Jayson Werth went to DC. i think he went with the $ and will be sorry he did. He didn’t have such a good year in 2011. He certainly didnt live up to that gaudy contract.
I’m going to have a shot of vodka now.

Joey, first off I was raised in Philly until I left to join the military and presently live in Northern Virginia so I get a good view of all the teams in this area. As far as I’m concerned the teams and fans of all their teams, less the Nats, suck. Be aware of the Nats this and coming years as they will be a challenge to the P’s. Jason didn’t make a bad choice as he got the $$ and went to what will be an excellent team in years to come. Oh by the way Philly teams all the way. Go Eagles, Flyers, Sixers, Union and of course the Mighty, Mighty Phillies. (sounds a little like Don Cornelius doesn’t it)

They used to have no need to be nice. The strike in 94 changed that. We stayed away and then they became alot friendlier. They would never throw a ball to a kid or give a few autographs. they would curse out the kids and then turn their backs. We love you Utley, Pence, and Doc!